Western Hemisphere 99
recommended that Nicaragua and Honduras sign a pact that strengthened the Pact of
Amity they signed in 1949. On February 24, the OAS Council issued four decisions,
ending the dispute, and on January 9, 1956, Costa Rica and Nicaragua signed an
agreement to strength their 1949 Pact of Amity as the commission ruled.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from April 1954.
MID#2042
Dispute Number: 2042
Date(s): May 3, 1957
Participants: 94 Costa Rica/93 Nicaragua
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: During a border conflict with Honduras, Nicaragua closed and reinforced
its frontier with Costa Rica. Costa Rican troops were moved to the border in response.
Coding changes: End Date changed from June 23, 1957.
MID#3013
Dispute Number: 3013
Date(s): October 13, 1977 to October 14, 1977
Participants: 93 Nicaragua/94 Costa Rica
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: On October 13, 1977, both Nicaragua and Costa Rica charged the other
with border violations. When Nicaragua rushed its troops to the border, Costa Rica
closed its border one day later. That same day Nicaraguan warplanes attacked a boat
on the Frio River; the boat had the public security minister of Costa Rica on board.
Nicaragua apologized after Costa Rica protested. Costa Rica rushed troops to the
border the next day, when it was reported that Nicaragua had ordered its national
guard to pursue guerrillas into Costa Rica if necessary. In Washington the Nicaraguan
ambassador asked the Costa Rican ambassador to help in the pursuit of the Sandinis-
tas; the Costa Rican ambassador replied that Nicaragua had bigger problems than the
guerrillas.
Coding changes: End Date changed from October 15, 1977.
MID#2346
Dispute Number: 2346
Date(s): September 12, 1978 to December 26, 1978
Participants: 93 Nicaragua/94 Costa Rica
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: When violence erupted between the Sandinista rebels and the oppressive
Nicaraguan government of Somoza on September 9, 1978, Costa Rica became vulner-
able. Costa Rica had no standing army, and it was impossible for the government to